What is Net Tuition?
Net Tuition = Your Tuition Fees (excluding other charges) minus your non-repayable aid and awards
Net Tuition is the amount you would pay out-of-pocket for tuition after all aid and awards are deducted. All other fees are excluded from this calculation.
McMaster University will continue to charge you tuition and fees. Since fall 2018, all OSAP funding is automatically redirected to McMaster to pay tuition and other student fees. You are always encouraged to check your student account regularly to avoid unnecessary interest charges.
Financial aid and awards included in total amount of non-repayable funding
- OSAP Grants (not including the Living & Learning Grant)
- McMaster President’s and Honour Awards
- Graduate Scholarships
- McMaster General and Donor-Funded Bursaries
- Faculty Awards
- Academic Grants
- Athletic Scholarships
- Travel, In-Course and Graduand Awards
- Exchange Grants
What’s not included in the Account Summary and/or Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary
- McMaster employment income
- Such as Work Program income, Teaching Assistance Income, RA in lieu, Sessional Faculty, Temporary/Casual income. These payments are administered through the Human Resources Mosaic module
- Graduate Research Scholarship Payments. These are administered through the Human Resources Mosaic module
- External Scholarships
When the information is updated
As information becomes available, the Account Summary and Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary will be updated. Processing times vary. We recommend you check your Account Summary and Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary pages regularly because of this.
Account Summary
Why do I see ‘pending’ on my Account Summary? What does that mean?
Pending items on your Account Summary are based on assessed eligibility either by OSAP or, in the case of scholarships or bursaries, by McMaster University. Items are pending until they are validated and then moved to a payment.
Why don’t I see all my pending OSAP on my Account Summary as a payment?
Why doesn’t my Account Summary match my Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary?
The Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary is based on OSAP assessed tuition. The Account Summary is based on actual tuition, other charges and shows the amount of confirmed OSAP payments.
Since processing times vary by transaction, there are sometimes delays for items to show in Mosaic.
What are ‘Other Charges’?
Other Charges are fees that McMaster University collects on behalf of student organizations or for University-administered programs. Other miscellaneous fees include but are not limited to food plans, parking fees, library fees, and student services fees.
How can I see more details?
When you are logged into Mosaic and looking at your Account Summary you can see more detail by clicking on the View detail/Print button. This will take you to the detailed by-term account information for that Academic year.
Why do I have a balance on my account statement when I have sufficient OSAP to cover tuition?
Students who receive OSAP may still have an outstanding balance on their student account for the following reasons:
OSAP funding is paid to McMaster directly and the amount of tuition, supplementary fees, residence and meal plan are taken into consideration. Fees such as library fees, parking fees or Campus Store charges are not considered
After the disbursement of OSAP, the tuition for the term increased resulting in an outstanding balance
Students are responsible to pay the balance on their student account. Outstanding balances are subject to interest charges. Learn more information about payment.
Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary
The OSAP website is always the most up-to-date source of information regarding your OSAP assessment. The Tuition, Aid and Awards screen is updated weekly and may not be as up-to-date as the OSAP website. Please return to the Tuition, Aid and Awards screen regularly to view your updated net tuition.
OSAP: Please allow 2 – 4 weeks for OSAP change requests to be processed through our Aid & Awards team.
McMaster Aid and Awards: As aid (i.e. bursaries, grants) and awards, for graduate and undergraduate students, becomes available to you, the Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary will be updated. Check the dates and deadlines.
Every year tuition costs are sent to OSAP for the purposes of calculating your OSAP entitlement. The amount of tuition is calculated according to OSAP allowable costs and how you complete your OSAP application. You may see a variance between the tuition charged on your Account Summary and what is displayed on your Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary for the following reasons:
- You are enrolled in a co-op work term and tuition is displayed at $1
- You have dropped a course and received a full or partial refund from McMaster
- You have not enrolled via Mosaic in the course load you indicated on your OSAP application
- Your OSAP change request is pending.
On the Tuition, Aid and Awards screen, click on ‘Non-Repayable Funding’ to expand and view a list of OSAP grants and McMaster aid and awards.
Funding that is paid directly to McMaster is included in the calculation for net tuition. You may be required to make additional payments to McMaster to ensure any outstanding balance on your student account is paid in full. Please review your Account Summary in the Mosaic Student Center.
When making a payment, always refer to the balance on your Account Summary in the Mosaic Student Center. The Tuition, Aid and Awards Summary displays your out-of-pocket expense for tuition only (no other charges are included) after non-repayable funding assistance from the Ontario Government and McMaster University has been deducted.
Where your funding is directed (e.g. student account or personal bank account) does not impact your net cost of tuition, but it may impact the balance owing on your McMaster student account. Review actual charges and any balance owing on your Account Summary in the Mosaic Student Center. It is your responsibility to ensure that your tuition and fees are paid in full.
Your net cost is the difference between the cost of tuition (not including supplementary fees) and non-repayable funding from OSAP and McMaster University. Where your funding is directed does not impact your net cost of tuition, but it does impact the balance owing on your McMaster student account.
Pending McMaster aid and awards, disbursed by the School of Graduate Studies, will appear as a McMaster Aid & Awards payment and then the ‘AP Refund’ will show under ‘Other Charges’ once the award is paid out to the student. Review actual charges and any balance owing on your Account Summary in the Mosaic Student Center. Click on View detail/Print to see the breakdown of ‘Other Charges’ by term.
Former Crown Wards or those adopted on or after Aug. 1, 2013 and are between the ages of 21 – 24 years of age, may be eligible to the Living and Learning Grant. The assessment of this grant is reviewed upon completion of the OSAP application.
